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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26039236">starlight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/gummiedevil/pseuds/gummiedevil'>gummiedevil</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Stargazing, Starset type of vibe, identity crisis, idk how life is outside of the academy, let her love...., literally anythint is possible, maki is tender, ummmm i guess theyre living on their own</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:33:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>961</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26039236</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/gummiedevil/pseuds/gummiedevil</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After they escape, Maki starts thinking</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>starlight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>HWBRKFNFL I got thinking about starset and owl city... wrote this in less than an hour sorry if it's kind of sucky lol</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first night Shuichi, Himiko, and Maki left the ruins of the academy they were trapped in, it was hard for everybody. The three of them had reoccurring nightmares and a lack of sense of identity. </p>
<p>Shuichi especially had it the worst: there were nights he woke up in a cold sweat and couldn't even remember his own name. Maki had a feeling of emptiness herself, although she always had that feeling. Or was that an effect of her false memories? Who was she at all?  </p>
<p>Himiko... there was no telling what was going on in the sleepy magician's mind. She didn't go without her anxiety, but she must have been much better at hiding it than Shuichi and Maki. She offered to "cleanse" the three of them, but then later claimed her magic wasn't strong enough. She was frankly still adorable and mostly just as carefree as she was in the killing game, and that's what they needed. So even if she couldn't magically heal them, they knew they would be far worse without her to cheer each other up. </p>
<p>One night, Maki found herself stargazing underneath a large oak tree. Shuichi and Himiko were sleeping not far in their shelter. Maki inhaled the crisp night air, feeling a comfort in the darkness. </p>
<p>Being an assassin meant she practically lived in the dark, and even if that life she knew was fake, it still made her smile. She could almost imagine a large jacket pulled over her shoulders, the galaxy print enveloping her and making her feel secure. </p>
<p>Kaito... She found it ridiculous that she was so stupidly in love with the cocky astronaut. It was so ridiculous that nobody made her smile like Kaito did, from that stupid Maki-roll nickname that made her stomach flutter to the way he cared about her after they trained. </p>
<p>Maki never memorized stars like Kaito probably did. There was no purpose in her job for that skill. But she could have sworn she saw a star that glittered brighter than the others by the crescent moon. </p>
<p>She blinked back tears. No, the idea was obsolete. Nothing like that existed. There was no way that-</p>
<p>No, you need this, A voice sternly said in her head. You're allowed to miss him and feel comfort in the stars. Let yourself find joy in the smallest things. </p>
<p>She inhaled, rubbing the hilt of her dagger to calm herself. She couldn't break down like this. She had to provide food and protection for Shuichi, Himiko, and herself. If they saw how weak she truly was, like how she broke down in Kaito's trial and the very last Danganronpa trial, they would become skeptical and lose trust in her-</p>
<p>"Nyyeh? Maki? What are you doing here?" Himiko came from behind, yawning and rubbing her eyes. Her hat was gone (probably still in the shelter) but it made her look completely different. </p>
<p>Maki went to grab her blade for a split second before realizing it was just Himiko. She set down her blade. "Nothing... did you have a nightmare?"</p>
<p>The smaller girl nodded. "I miss Tenko... I still feel bad that I didn't care about her until she died. I keep seeing her and it makes me nervous."</p>
<p>Maki did something she never envisioned she would ever do: she brought Himiko closer to her side, letting her rest her head on the assassin's lap. She found herself stroking Himiko's soft red hair, another thing to keep her mind off her anxieties. </p>
<p>Maki didn't have the words to comfort her. She didn't think Shuichi could be much help either-- he had his own existential problems and was in no position to give mental health advice. She felt bad being unable to give comforting words. Kaito would probably say something kind of stupid but also pretty helpful and a little charming and a dash of handsome-</p>
<p>Maki didn't even realize she was crying until Himiko lifted her head up when tears fell on her hair. She didn't even try to stop it, and she felt so stupid and embarassing crying in front of Himiko. </p>
<p>"What's wrong?" She sleepily asked. </p>
<p>Instincts told her to shove Himiko off and run off and pretend nothing happened and she was still the badass that they admired her to be. But the killing game softened her and made her mushy, made her fall in love and have him die when she was so close to accepting her own feelings. </p>
<p>"It's ok, you don't have to talk if you don't want to," Himiko said with a small yawn. "I can leave you alone if you want." </p>
<p>The assassin shook her head quickly. "N-no, don't leave..." she murmured half to Himiko and half to Kaito. Or what she felt was Kaito's metaphorical jacket enveloping her in a warm cocoon. </p>
<p>After a brief moment of silence, Maki continued, "I'm sorry I'm not as strong as I was. I should have been there to protect you two and I can't." </p>
<p>"Huh? Nobody expects you to be strong by yourself. What made you think that?" </p>
<p>What *didn't* make her think that? Her memories as a caregiver, her skill as an assassin, her role in the killing game to protect Kaito from that brat Kokichi... </p>
<p>Himiko snuggled deeper into Maki's lap, lazily twirling one of her ponytails through her hands. In any other scenario being touched in such a way would have made her chop off their hands. But she never realized how much she needed this until now. How much she needed someone to just... love her unconditionally. </p>
<p>Is this the work of Kaito? The universe? Or simply an act of kindness that she shouldn't be overthinking?</p>
<p>Thank you Kaito, she thought before she ended up falling asleep on her own.</p>
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